Talking Points: America Prepares for War

America prepares for war is the subject of this evening's Talking Points memo.

Now is the time for all of us to be patriots, to sacrifice for our country. And that means we should all get back to normal as fast as possible. Take that airline flight. Buy that car. Work as hard as you can. Do all the things you would have done before the attack. Go to the baseball game.

Americans who sold stock today should be ashamed. They aren't patriots. Look into buying Treasury bonds or stocks. Help your country out.

Most of all, stare down your fear. Many Americans are afraid of what will happen next. That's normal.

But don't give into the fear. That's destructive. Be patriotic. Don't let the enemy rattle you.

The Bush administration is being disciplined and methodical. That is very encouraging. They are lining up world support for the action America is going to take.

Talking Points has studied the Afghan situation. And there should be little wiggle room for the Taliban government. They should be given a short deadline in which to hand over bin Laden. If they don't, the U.S. should bomb the Afghan infrastructure to rubble -- the airport, the power plants, their water facilities, and the roads.

This is a very primitive country. And taking out their ability to exist day to day will not be hard. Remember, the people of any country are ultimately responsible for the government they have. The Germans were responsible for Hitler. The Afghans are responsible for the Taliban.

We should not target civilians. But if they don't rise up against this criminal government, they starve, period.

Next, Iraq must be dealt with. Again, their infrastructure must be destroyed and the population made to endure yet another round of intense pain. I wouldn't invade Iraq. But I would put them out of every possible business. Maybe then the people there will finally overthrow Saddam.

Target three is Libya and Qaddafi. Again, he either quits and goes into exile or we bomb his oil facilities, all of them. And we mind the harbor in Tripoli. Nothing goes in, nothing goes out.

We also destroy all the airports in Libya. Let them eat sand.

In addition, the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Islamic jihad, all would be targeted for arrest or assassination for crimes against humanity. And that's the memo.

Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

The "Most Ridiculous Item of the Day," in Boca Raton, Florida, a company called the National Council of Compensation Insurance handed out American flags to workers on the national day of mourning last week. That's a good deal.

But then the company would not let the employees display the flags at work. It says it wanted to protect the workers from possible divisive political discussions.

Well, that's ridiculous and everybody knows it. So now the company has reversed itself, and the flags are up. There are pinheads everywhere.